Mending A Fractured Soul
by o0o-KShaniece-o0o
Summary: Naida is a well-known internet idol. With tons of followers watching her every move, Naida makes it her mission to lead by example. With her platform, she has become a notable figure that encourages the support of monster kind. That is until a tragic event throws Naida's life into a spiral and she loses everything she ever held dear - all the while the cameras were rolling.


_Losing a child, no matter what age_

_Makes your heart break in places_

_You never knew existed._

-_**Unknown**_

**:**

**:**

**Things weren't supposed to end this way.**

"Will the family of little Talia please step forward at this time?" the pastor asked solemnly. His old, wise eyes looked over at the woman with sadness and pity, causing her stomach to clench and her throat to tighten. She moved her eyes away from the man's gaze. Her gray eyes instead locked onto the object in front of her; fear and guilt swam in her gaze, mind recalling just what lead to this terrible outcome. Despite the many weeks of planning that had given the woman ample time to prepare herself for this moment, she still couldn't believe this was her reality.

**They were supposed to be at home right now, cooking dinner and doing homework.**

**They weren't supposed to be here - not like this.**

"C-c-come on, N-Naida. W-w-we've g-got you," a small and shy yellow lizard monster said softly, as she stood from her seat. She turned and gently gripped Naida's hand, holding it in both of her larger ones. When the timid monster began rubbing her thumbs over the back of the woman's hand, it was then that the woman realized that her hands were shaking. In fact, her entire body seemed to be shaking, as if she were in the midst of some sort of emotional meltdown.

Naida gulped. No. She didn't deserve to wallow in despair. _This was her fault._

"Yeah, come on, pipsqueak," the blue fish monster with bloody red hair murmured gently/ She tightened her arms around her shoulders, bending her head down to catch the smaller woman's eyes. "We'll go up there with ya if you want?"

Naida looked over at the object of her fears and felt herself let out a quiet whimper. Could she do it alone? She knew she needed to face the consequences of her actions on her own. She deserved to face what happens when she fails by herself. But... but it was so hard...

"Y-yeah. I... I don't wanna g-go alone," Naida breathed shakily. She looked up at her friend with defeated eyes.

**...Wh-why am I not waking up, yet?**

The fish monster stood and wrapped her arm around Naida's shoulder. She held her free hand gently, squeezing it reassuringly. Naida stood up slowly, tightening her grip on her friend's hand as the yellow lizard monster wrapped her arm around Naida's waist, still gripping her other hand tightly.

As the trio of friends walked closer to the object of Naida's fear, her shoulders began to shake violently and spluttered whimpers began to fall from her trembling lips. The top of a tiny face began to poke out from the object as the trio moved closer and Naida's whimpers turned into broken sobs. She stumbled a bit, but her friends dutifully caught her, their own faces twisted in grief and heartache as they listened to their friend break down.

The sobbing grew louder as the grieving woman looked down at the object and into the tiny face of a small child - a child who looked like a tiny replica of Naida. The child was lying in a casket, lifeless, unmoving.

**She wasn't supposed to be lying there. **

**It should have been me. Me! **

**Not her...**

The child's face was sunken in with a blank smile stretched onto her lips in a cruel attempt to make the child look peaceful. Her tiny hands were folded neatly over her belly, and her corkscrew-curly hair that looked exactly like Naida's was spread around her head like an ebony halo. The child was wearing an outfit that looked as if it were well-loved in the child's life - a rose-gold dress with white stockings and pastel yellow mary-jane shoes.

Naida's eyes paused over the conveniently-placed, yet unfamiliar black scarf that hid the child's neck from onlookers. 'How tacky that looks...' Naida thought bitterly, but, in the end, she knew she couldn't get too upset. The child needed that scarf if this were to stay an open-casket funeral.

If she weren't acutely aware of the child being deceased, Naida would have sworn she was sleeping. Naida bit back another sob as she took a tentative step away from her friends and stood directly over the casket. She stared down at the small child's face, eyes darting back and forth as if she were trying to memorize her features one last time.

**I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough.**

Raising her hand, Naida gently moved her fingers through the child's curls, taking her time to fix her hair one last time. The pastor and her friends watched her quietly; the sadness in their eyes would have been suffocating if Naida had been paying attention. Oblivious, the woman straightened the child's little hair bow, moved a few curls away from the sunken and pale face, then adjusted the clothing so it looked more presentable. With a small, shaky sigh escaping her lips, Naida moved one hand atop the little girl's cold, folded ones and the other to her unusually hard cheek, caressing it gently.

**I'm sorry that I didn't fight hard enough.**

After a moment of gathering her courage, Naida finally bent down and pressed a loving, lingering kiss to the deceased child's forehead.

"Mommy loves you, sweetheart, and she's sorry she couldn't protect you," Naida whispered, intending for no one but her lifeless child to hear. The tears that were building in her eyes finally were allowed to fall. One tear landed on her daughter's eyelashes, before dropping down and slowly trailing down her cold cheek and disappearing into her black scarf - a macabre imitation of the child crying from beyond the grave. The sight, Naida decided, would be in her nightmares for many nights to come. The grieving mother slowly stood back up after one last longing look at her child, before letting herself step back into her friends' comforting arms.

**Why am I so weak...?**

**Why... Why couldn't I do more?**

"Come on, girlie," the fish monster said gently, taking a quick glance at the deceased child that she'd come to know and love. Her soul clenched, and she quickly turned away. "We... We'll take ya outside for some fresh air, now."

Naida nodded gently.

"Th-thank you, Undyne, Alphys," she whispered as she allowed the monsters to lead her away. With one last glance at the casket, Naida allowed herself to hang her head in despair.

**Why am I such a ****_failure_****?**


End file.
